The PLC+ Playbook, Grades K-12: A Hands-On Guide to Collectively Improving Student Learning

by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, John T. Almarode, Karen T. Flories, Dave Nagel

Overview

Help your PLC+ group to work wiser, not harder. This practical guide to planning and implementing PLC+ groups in a collaborative setting is designed to equip professional learning community teams with the tools they need to work effectively toward improving student learning.   

Designed as an accompanying resource to PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design, the Playbook helps educators bring the PLC+ framework to life by supporting teams as they answer the five guiding questions that comprise a PLC+: 

1. Where are we going?
2.  Where are we now?
3. How do we move learning forward?
4. What did we learn today?
5.  Who benefited and who did not benefit?

Twenty-three modules support PLC+ groups as they work through one entire cycle of learning, addressing the five questions and four cross-cutting themes—equity, high expectations, individual and collective efficacy, and effective team activation and facilitation. Tools to support implementation of the PLC+ framework are embedded throughout the Playbook: 

• Blank templates allow team members to record their work for every module
• Step-by-step instructions guide PLC+ groups to facilitate productive discussion, engage in professional learning, and gather and analyze evidence of student learning
• Crosscutting themes provide cohesion and focus throughout the work 

PLC+ groups can utilize each activity in the Playbook or find an appropriate entry point and continue the work of building PLC+. Engage in deeper learning around the ideas and concepts central to PLC+ and make greater equity and efficacy a reality in your school or district. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781544385716
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	05/10/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Douglas Fisher is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator.  He is a credentialed teacher and leader in California.  In 2022, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame by the Literacy Research Association. He has published widely on literacy, quality instruction, and assessment, as well as books such as Welcome to Teaching, PLC+, Teaching Students to Drive their Learning, and Student Assessment: Better Evidence, Better Decisions, Better Learning.

Nancy Frey is professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Nancy was a teacher, academic coach, and central office resource coordinator in Florida.  She is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California.  She is a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. She has published widely on literacy, quality instruction, and assessment, as well as books such as The Artificial Intelligences Playbook, How Scaffolding Works, How Teams Work, and The Vocabulary Playbook.

Dr. John Almarode is a bestselling author and an Associate Professor of Education at James Madison University. He was awarded the inaugural Sarah Miller Luck Endowed Professorship in 2015 and received an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia in 2021. Before his academic career, John started as a mathematics and science teacher in Augusta County, Virginia. As an author, John has written multiple educational books focusing on science and mathematics, and he has co-created a new framework for developing, implementing, and sustaining professional learning communities called PLC+. Dr. Almarode′s work has been presented to the US Congress, the Virginia Senate, and the US Department of Education. One of his recent projects includes developing the Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Continuing his collaborative work with colleagues on what works best in teaching and learning, How Tutoring Works, Visible Learning in Early Childhood, and How Learning Works, all with Corwin Press, were released in 2021.

Karen Flories was the Executive Director of Educational Services for 5 years and Director of Literacy and Social Studies for 2 years with Valley View School District in Illinois, after serving as the English Department Chair for Romeoville High School. Karen’s classroom experience includes high school English, special education, and alternative education. Karen holds credentials in general education, special education, and educational leadership. She earned her master’s degree in educational leadership from Concordia University. During her time at the district level, Karen led the implementation of Visible Learning+, specifically focusing on teacher clarity, classroom assessment, and feedback. Karen is the co-author of The PLC+ Activator’s Guide, PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design, and The PLC+ Playbook, Grades K-12. She is currently a full-time professional learning consultant for Corwin.

Dave Nagel, MsED, is an international educational consultant and researcher. Dave began his educational career as a middle school science and high school biology teacher. His administrative experiences involved middle school assistant principal, high school associate principal, and director of extended day and credit-recovery programs. He was honored numerous times as a ‘Senior Choice’ winner, where graduating seniors selected him as someone who dramatically affected their life in a positive way. Dave has credentials in school leadership and secondary science teaching as well as a master of science degree from Butler University. Dave is the author of Effective Grading Practices for Secondary Teachers and the co-author of The PLC+ Activator’s Guide and PLC+: A Playbook for Instructional Leaders.

Table of Contents

List of Videos
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
Welcome to the PLC+ Playbook
Module 1: The Purpose and Status of Your PLC+
Put the Playbook to Work for You
PLC Defined
PLC+ Guiding Questions
Module 2: Crosscutting Values and Opportunities to Grow Your PLC+ Team
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Crosscutting Values
SWOT Analysis
Module 3: On Your Own: The Plus Is You
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Your Individual Identity
Teacher Credibility
Teacher Credibility and Its Intersection With Crosscutting Values
Teacher Self-Efficacy
Teacher Self-Efficacy and Its Intersection With Crosscutting Values
Module 4: Collective Efficacy and Credibility in a PLC+
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Revisiting Teacher Credibility and Teacher Self-Efficacy
From Individual to Collective Teacher Efficacy
Setting Norms for Our Ways of Work
Norms for Our Ways of Work in Our PLC+
Module 5: Guiding Question 1: Where Are We Going? Analyze Standards
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Analyzing Standards
Design the Learning Progression
Develop Daily Learning Intentions
Identify Success Criteria
Complete PLC+ Template for Guiding Question 1: Where Are We Going?
Module 6: Where Are We Going? Crosscutting Values Check
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Equity and Expectations Values Checklist
Activate Learning for Myself and Others Checklist
Collective Efficacy Checklist
Module 7: Guiding Question 2: Where Are We Now? Data Collection
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Initial Assessment Data Collection
Data Gathering
Module 8: Where Are We Now? Data Analysis, Common Challenges, and Misconception Analysis
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Data Analysis Protocol
Common Challenge Protocol
Identify Student Misconceptions
Module 9: Where Are We Now? Crosscutting Values Check
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Equity and Expectations Values Checklist
Activate Learning for Myself and Others Checklist
Collective Efficacy Checklist
Module 10: Guiding Question 3: How Do We Move Learning Forward? Strengthening Our Teaching Practices
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Pair Teaching Strategies With Evidence Gathering
Coaching Corners Protocol
Module 11: How Do We Move Learning Forward? Assignment Analysis
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Assignment Analysis Tool
Module 12: How Do We Move Learning Forward? Learning Walks
Put the Playbook to Work for You
What Is a Learning Walk?
Types of Learning Walks and Their Purposes
Module 13: How Do We Move Learning Forward? Microteaching
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Microteaching in a Professional Learning Community
Preparation for Microteaching: The Volunteer Teacher
Module 14: How Do We Move Learning Forward? Crosscutting Values Check
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Equity and Expectations Values Checklist
Activate Learning for Myself and Others Checklist
Collective Efficacy Checklist
Module 15: Guiding Question 4: What Did We Learn Today?
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Build the Habit of Reflection
Module 16: What Did We Learn Today? Build Expert Noticing
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Expert Noticing: How Is Our PLC+ Using Student Evidence of Learning?
Expert Noticing Video Protocol
Noticing Note-Taking Guide
Module 17: What Did We Learn Today? Common Assessments
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Common Assessments/Quality Assessment Evidence
Design a Common Assessment to Use for Preunit and Postunit Comparisons
Module 18: What Did We Learn Today? Determining Impact and Comparing Progress and Achievement
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Determining Impact
Progress Versus Achievement
Visualizing Data
Module 19: What Did We Learn Today? Crosscutting Values Check
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Equity and Expectations Values
Overcoming Obstacles to Talking About Learning
Equity and Expectations Values Checklist
Activate Learning for Myself and Others Checklist
Collective Efficacy Checklist
Module 20: Guiding Question 5: Who Benefited and Who Did Not Benefit?
Put the Playbook to Work for You
On Your Own
Data Review
On Your Own
Equity Audit Protocol: Revisit the Data as a Team
Module 21: Who Benefited and Who Did Not Benefit? Responding to Improve Student Learning
Put the Playbook to Work for You
The Vital Nature of Progress Monitoring
Tiered Intervention Progress Monitoring Protocol
Module 22: Who Benefited and Who Did Not Benefit? Crosscutting Values Check
Put the Playbook to Work for You
Equity and Expectations Values Checklist
Activate Learning for Myself and Others Checklist
Collective Efficacy Checklist
References